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About Aquinas College

Founded in 1886, Aquinas College is a small, private, Catholic, liberal arts college that is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States.

Aquinas College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association. The college offers over 61 majors, awarding the Bachelor's as well as the Master's degrees. Students are encouraged to participate in semester long cultural immersion programs (study abroad program) in Costa Rica, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, and Spain.

According to U.S. News and World Report (2012), Aquinas College was ranked among the "Best Regional Universities - Midwest".

Additional information

Challenging conventional thinking may not be a practice one typically associates with a small Catholic college, but at Aquinas College, it is a way of life. At Aquinas, critical thinking plays a vital role in every classroom and is woven into every subject. Aquinas is a place where students of every age, nationality and religion are welcomed, yet feel challenged, and learn that the only limits to success are those they place upon themselves.

To truly appreciate Aquinas' rich heritage, one must know something of the Dominican Sisters who laid the solid foundation on which the College is built. Their history dates back to a cloister founded by St. Dominic de Guzman in Bavaria in 1206, but their story in the United States begins with the arrival of four Dominican nuns in New York City on August 28, 1853. The sisters were on the first leg of a mission to establish an education ministry in America. The school they founded that year in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, grew to 400 students, nearly all immigrants, by 1857.

In 1877, five choir nuns and one lay sister from the New York order, ranging in age from 16 to 29, arrived in Traverse City, Michigan. Led by 29-year-old Sister Mary Aquinata, they opened a school for six pupils the following day. Their hard and courageous beginning was repeated throughout the state of Michigan in the ensuing years.

They arrived in Grand Rapids in 1883, incorporated as the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids, and unanimously elected Sister Mary Aquinata to lead them as Mother Superior. In 1886, they established the novitiate normal school to which Aquinas College traces its beginnings. Despite difficult early years, the school flourished, and the sisters expanded their education ministry throughout the area. When Mother Mary Aquinata died of cancer on April 30, 1915, The Grand Rapids Herald wrote that her legacy to the community included "forty-two schools, three academies, the Grand Rapids orphanage, and two Catholic Central high schools...(she) was one of the most beloved members of Catholic sisterhood throughout the country."

In 1917, under the leadership of Mother Superior Mary Gonsalva Bankstahl, the Dominicans purchased the land for the current motherhouse, known as Marywood. In 1922, the sisters' newly created college for lay women merged with the normal school. The new college received a charter from the state of Michigan to grant degrees in 1923.

In 1931, the school became the first Catholic college in America to introduce coeducation and was reorganized as Catholic Junior College. The same year, the College was moved to Ransom Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids. Monsignor Arthur F. Bukowski came to the College as dean in 1934 and was named president in 1937.

The College began to operate as a four-year institution in 1941. It was renamed in honor of Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican scholar and teacher considered to be one of the most brilliant minds of the 13th century and one of the most influential thinkers in the history of the Catholic church. St. Thomas stressed the importance of having an open mind and an open heart, and continuously learning from our life experiences. Throughout the years, the Aquinas community has continued to foster a learning environment centered on these principles.

In the tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas, considered by many to be ahead of his time, Aquinas established a reputation for innovation. It created one of the first degree-completion programs for adults, offering courses on weekends and evenings. Aquinas also was one of the first institutions to offer a master of management degree. The program, developed in collaboration with area business leaders to meet the community's workforce requirements, develops management skills such as leadership, team building and problem-solving.

Students are drawn to Aquinas because it offers a diverse but inclusive learning community, one that enables them to increase their knowledge, hone their competencies, develop their character, and use their God-given talents to make a difference in our world though their lives, work and service to others.

Computer Labs and Technology- Available in the library, student center, and academic buildings. Classrooms and residence halls are wired for network access.

Albertus Magnus Hall of Science- Features classrooms and lecture halls, science labs, observatory, and a greenhouse.

The Performing Arts Center- A professional theatre with 400 seats.

The Art and Music Center features- Houses an art gallery, a 200-seat recital hall, a sculpture studio, and a recording studio.

The Cook Carriage House- Features the campus' own coffee house - the Moose Cafe.

The campus is situated in the eastern edge of Grand Rapids, Michigan's second largest city. Grand Rapids city offers numerous attractions such as the Van Andel Arena, the John Ball Zoo, the Gerald R. Ford Museum, Fredrik Meijer Botanical Gardens, and etc.

Regina Area
The Regina Area is made of one residence hall, Regina Hall, located in the center of campus. Located next to Regina Hall is the Regina Bowl which has a four hoop basketball court and beach volleyball pit. The Regina Area is staffed by a full-time professional Area Coordinator and a team of 13 Resident Assistants.

Regina Hall
Regina Hall is an all freshman residence hall that houses over 350 students. Regina Hall is split up into two separate wings, Regina East and Regina West. Regina East is a three-story all girls wing and Regina West is a four story wing with two all male floors, one female floor and one coed floor. Each floor in Regina Hall has its own lounge with furniture, laundry facilities, accessible by elevator and the entire building has wireless internet access. Each floor has two Resident Assistants, the exception being First Floor West which only has one, to help build a positive community.

On the first floor there is the main lounge which has beverage and candy machines, a ping pong table, pool table, fireplace, couches, tables and a 46 inch flat screen TV with DVD player. The first floor also includes an ice machine, small computer lab and study area with full spectrum lighting for less eye strain while reading. There is a 24-hour front desk for any assistance a student may need.

In the basement of Regina Hall there is bike storage and a workout facility with treadmills, bike machines, elliptical machines and two flat screen TVs as well as an open area to do aerobic exercises with wall mirrors. The Residence Life Office is also located in the basement.

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